Conclusion

This class (SM 3950) was definitely worth taking. When deciding on what classes to take for this semester, I wasn’t sure because I didn’t need to take this class. I talked to Dr. Spencer about it and she encouraged me to take the course, so I did. I really did learn a lot though, and I think doing the blogs enhanced the entire experience of the class for me. I had never done a blog before, so doing something new like that was definitely beneficial. I also liked commenting on other blogs and having people comment on mine.

I enjoyed talking about and learning about unfamiliar topics such as cricket and Latin Americans in MLB. The subjects that were new to me and that I didn’t know a lot about, made the class beneficial and interesting. After all of the previous sport management classes I have taken, I was unsure of how much more will be beneficial for me. Then, after this class, I realized that there is so much that I don’t know in the field of sport management and that there is a whole world out there that is always changing.

What I also really enjoyed about this class was all of the guest speakers that we had. Listening to their stories was a lot of fun and they really helped the class discussions. I wish more classes had guest speakers to share their knowledge and views.

I think the most interesting topic that we talked about was the Olympics and the bidding process. Mr. Meeson’s presentation was great because it showed the many aspects of what is involved in bidding for major events. Seeing a real life example of a possible career is always beneficial because it helps determine what you might like to do and what opportunities are out there.

I will take a lot away from this class. I think it helped me look at a lot of different aspects of our major and will help me in my internship and future career. I observed other people’s viewpoints and opinions and they help broaden my own perspective on things, because of their diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The Gender Trap

After reading “The Gender Trap” by Emine Saner, it was amazing to learn about some of the more famous occurrences when female athletes were caught in the gender trap. I couldn’t believe all of the tests they make many female athlete go through. I can’t imagine how degrading it must be for those athletes to have to do all of those gender-determination tests in front of the doctors. In the case of Soundarajan, it must have been heartbreaking and humiliating to have to give back her medal from the 2006 Asian games after failing a gender test. In the case of Dora Ratjen, I was not surprised when I read that Hitler had his ways of cheating, trying to show the supremacy of the Aryan race. Hermann Ratjen, who was part of the Hitler Youth, was forced by Nazis to enter the 1936 Olympic Games as a woman. According to Saner (2008), “It is believed that as many as 10,000 East German athletes were caught up in a nightmarish state-sponsored attempt to build a race of superhuman communist sports heroes and force-fed cocktails of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.” It was terrible to learn that Heidi Krieger was treated and used like that. From Saner (2008), it was pretty crazy to read about Stella Walsh, and how “in 1980, Walsh was killed by mistake during an armed robbery at a shopping mall in Cleveland, Ohio. The postmortem revealed she had male genitalia, although this did not prove that she was a man as she was also found to have both male and female chromosomes, a genetic condition known as mosaicism.”

Yao Ming

The topic of Yao Ming’s image is very interesting. According to Leonard (2003), “like Asians in society as a whole, Yao (and other international players) is set up as a model minority.” Yao Ming is obviously popular because of his height, but he is also liked because his is humble, patriotic, and a team player. I remember when I was in high school and I saw this black kid wearing a Yao Ming jersey, and I just thought it was kind of odd. Yao has been very beneficial for the NBA, because they are able to broaden their market by reaching out to the Asian fans. Yao does provide a great bridge between American and Chinese cultures.

Because of Yao Ming, other teams have expressed his culture by offering things like Asian American Nights, passing out fortune cookies, and doing dragon dances. Leonard (2003), states that “Asian identity and cultural values now have a place at the NBA table and within the global marketplace, but the visibility of Asianness comes through a homogenized and flat presentation of cultural identity, not unlike the representation of black NBA stars.” I don’t think that Shaq’s comment was meant to be offensive, that is just how he is. Yes, there might be some tension because of foreign players taking control, but nothing too serious. I think the American players are learning from their foreign teammates and vice versa. Respect is shared especially with great foreign players like Dirk Nowitzki.

Also, in class when we were talking about Yao Ming we mentioned Nate Robinson. Coincidentally on Friday, the 18^th, my twin brother Bryce (on the right) and I meet him and got our picture taken with him at the Chicago airport.

                                                                                               

Olympic Bidding

In class, we’ve talked about the Olympics and the bidding process countries go through to be the host of the Olympics. I never really thought about what all is involved in making a bid for the Olympics Games and much work is really put into it. There are a lot of different elements that have to be considered when deciding on where the Olympic Games should be held, such as: location (global visibility), climate, culture, cost, etc. From reading Nauright’s article, it is very important for cities and nations to market themselves. According to Nauright (2004), “With much of global culture displayed by the media, events, particularly significant sporting ones such as the Olympic Games or the soccer World Cup, have become highly sought after commodities as developed countries, and increasingly some leading developing countries, move towards event-driven economies” (p.1325). Hosting such large events is a huge deal, because nations must spend large amounts of money, and they have to decide if it will all be worth it in the end. Nauright (2004), states, “The number of nations that can spend the necessary resources on elite sporting programmes across the board, however, is limited to a small minority of the over 200 participants in the Olympic Games and nations must often choose whether to divert limited public resources into supporting international sporting success or the attraction of international sporting events” (p.1325). I can see why the Olympic Games have been held in the same place more than once, but I also think it is important to be diverse and give other nations a chance. Nauright (2004), also states, “Ethnicity has become significant in event marketing and destination branding, with bid and organizing committees increasingly seeking to harness previously excluded groups when promoting events” (p.1328).

Tiger Woods

First, I would like to say that I enjoyed watching that YouTube clip of Tiger when he was 2 years old on television. I had never seen that video clip before. When Tiger Woods first appeared on Oprah, and she referred to him as “America’s Son” and “just what America needs”, I agree with it because I think what she meant was that Tiger has shown that minorities can be successful. Also, as Cashmore (2008) states “Woods is a symbol of integrated America” (p. 621). Golf has always been a segregated sport, and it is a huge breakthrough because Woods is one of the greats.

 I would definitely say that Tiger Woods projects a calculated image. He pretty much has to do whatever his endorsements tell him to do. As Bissinger (2010) states in his article, “he has always been the bionic man in terms of personality, controlling to a fault and controlled to a fault, smiling with humility and showing those pearly white teeth in victory or defeat, where even fellow pros and other insiders didn’t really know him, because he didn’t want anybody to know him. With Woods, everything was crafted to produce a man of nothing, with no interior—non-threatening and non-controversial.” I think this assessment was fair, because it is true and he got a lot of money to be that way.

I remember before the incident seeing Tiger Woods in so many commercials for various products, thinking that it was pretty smart because he is so well liked and idolized. He was the perfect promoter, but now I would definitely say that his marketability has gone down. For being such a great athlete, I just hope that the scandal isn’t his ultimate legacy.

Michael Jordan

When I think of Michael Jordan, I think about one of the greatest athletes of all time. I think of basketball because his name is so synonymous with the game. I think of his shoes/clothing line because they are so popular everywhere  in the world. I think of brands such as Nike and Gatorade because he has done so many commercials promoting their products. I think of an icon, he has his own symbol! Also, with only the slight exception of Michael Jackson, when see or hear the initials “MJ” you think of one person.

Arguably, Michael Jordan is not only one of the most influential people of all time in the NBA, but in sports, fashion,  and people in general. Michael Jordan has accomplished so much in his life, as an athlete, businessperson, and actor. It is no surprise that he is worth billions of dollars. I also think about how many accomplishments he had as a basketball player, with all of his league records, titles, MVP and Slam Dunk awards, All-Star appearances, and Olympic gold medals. Michael Jordan’s life has been amazing to say the least and has impacted the whole world.

I don’t think that it is wrong to compare other basketball players or even athletes of other sports to him. I think you can compare some of the great basketball players like Kobe to him, and you can compare other athletes like Tiger Woods because they are incredible athletes and huge icons at the same time.

MLB Exploiting Latin Talent

Before reading the “Fields of Broken Dreams: Latinos and Baseball” article, I didn’t realize just how many Latino players are in the MLB, and that so many of them come from overwhelming poverty. I also didn’t realize how underreported and exploited Latino players in the major leagues are. According to Bretón (2000), Major League Baseball teams “sign a boatload of Latinos for little money and if only a couple make it to the big leagues, teams still come out ahead. Instead of signing four [American] guys at $25,000 each, you sign 20 [Dominican] guys for $5,000 each.” Everyone then says the justification for this is that these players from third world countries who were in great poverty have the chance to escape that. Bretón (2000) states “baseball gives them a way out, a chance to get paid, eat regularly, sleep in clean beds, and, for the very best, a crack at fame and fortune.” I agree that baseball may have been the only way for some of these players to pull themselves out of poverty, but I don’t think it is right for the MLB to sign the Latino ballplayers for so little when they are bettering their teams so much. According to Bretón (2000), “90 to 95 percent of Latino players signed to contracts never reach the big leagues. The vast majority never get a chance to play in the U.S., not even in the minor leagues. And all but a few of those brought to the U.S. are released without ever playing major league ball.” Also, when I read about Miguel Tejada, I found it amazing that growing up he had to go through all of the things that he did. Miguel Tejada is an incredible rags to riches story.

Jeff Meeson's Presentation

When Dr. Spencer told us Jeff Meeson from Octagon was coming to speak to our class, I didn’t really know what to expect. I had never heard of the company “Octagon” before. I didn’t look it up beforehand but it was actually fun to learn about it from Mr. Meeson. On their website it says, “Octagon is the world’s largest sponsorship consulting practice and a pioneer and leader in athlete & personality representation & management.” It was great to have him speak to our class about his company and what he does. I am majoring in Sport Management and minoring in Marketing, so this was a good example of a type of career that I might want to pursue. I thought Mr. Meeson’s slideshow presentation was very impressive. You can tell that their company has very creative and hardworking employees. I also really enjoyed it when Mr. Meeson split us up into groups to work on our own marketing strategy for bids. It was a good real world example of how people at Octagon would brainstorm ideas for a marketing strategy. Getting to listen to other people’s ideas and hearing their viewpoints really helps my creativity and I think it is a fun experience. I think it is very beneficial to have these guest speakers come to our class, especially when they have us get involved. These guest speakers do a good job of describing to us different aspects about our field of study and how many various opportunities are out there.

Dr. Meek: Racism and Hooliganism

Last Thursday, we had a guest speaker, Dr. Meek, come and speak to our class. Dr. Meek talked to us about soccer and the racism and hooliganism that goes on. He showed us video of examples of racism in soccer. I couldn’t believe some of the things that the fans were doing. I had never seen people throwing bananas on to the field or fans proudly displaying Swastikas at a game. The black soccer players had to play through it all. I couldn’t imagine how tough that must have been to try and play through. I’m not surprised that players eventually were taking a stand against the racism and I think it is a really good idea. Players like Thierry Henry, that have dealt with racism first hand, can really help send a message to stop the racist acts and actions in soccer.

 I was just as appalled when Dr. Meek talked about the hooliganism that goes on with soccer fans, or rather, soccer fanatics. Dr. Meek mentioned how fights between fans of opposing teams not only happen inside a stadium, but they occasionally happen outside of the stadium. The fans of other countries are crazy in how serious they take their sport. They act like everything they do is completely normal. I also thought how ridiculous is was what Dr. Meek said that when the police show up to stop a fight, both opposing team fans all then gang up on the police. Personally, I think it is going to take a lot of work for fans to act more appropriately. I don’t know if they will ever change, because it is something they take so much pride in.

U.S. in Women's World Cup

I watched some of the women’s World Cup games this year. It was mostly because the U.S. team was so good. I remember the games leading up to the finals were exciting, but the final itself was really dramatic. I myself, along with many others probably, felt that the U.S. women’s team should have won that game. They played really well and had great opportunities, but just couldn’t capitalize, giving Japan just a big enough window of opportunity to sneak out the victory. I really enjoyed watching the game even though the U.S. team lost. Before the tournament I had never even heard of any of the players, and now everyone knows who Hope Solo and Abby Wambach are. It really is nice and somewhat refreshing to see other athletes getting some of the spotlight and recognition (especially female athletes) as opposed to the ones who are talked about every day.

I remember watching the 1999 Women’s World Cup final with The U.S. and China. I remember that it was such a big deal because the U.S. team was really good and the game was held in the U.S. so there were a lot of fans cheering for them. I remembered that it came down to penalty kicks just like this year’s final game and I thought that it was oddly coincidental, but still very exciting. From the outcome of that game everyone knows who Brandi Chastain is. I couldn’t say the victory was a reflection of Title IX or if it signaled that “women’s sports teams had arrived”, but it did help the popularity of the sport especially for girls.

Dr. Cho

When Dr. Cho came to speak to our class about sport globalization and glocalization, it was very interesting what he had to say. I thought the most interesting thing was that Dr. Cho himself was basically a product of Sport Globalization. He talked about how he grew up in Korea playing sports and wanted to go into the sport field as a career. When he had to make the decision of what to study, he decided to do physical education. Dr. Cho eventually came to the United States to pursue his further interest in sports and a higher level of education by earning his law degree from Arizona State University and his Ph.D. in sport management from the University of Connecticut. I thought Dr. Cho’s speech was very inspirational. He is living proof that with hard work and aspiring goals, you can go anywhere.

I thought the video clip Dr. Cho showed us of Korea’s team in the World Cup was very eye-opening. I couldn’t believe how many fans were packed all in one place showing their support for their team. The people were all over the streets and watching the big screen from inside the buildings, rooting for and celebrating with their team. The video clip showed how much sport is globalized, especially soccer. It showed how much sports are embraced by everyone across the world and that they really have the ability to bring a nation together. The mega-events such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games promote globalization and are driven by it.

Growing the game: WBC answers

1.      Growing the game means making baseball more globally popular, especially in nations where it is very unpopular. WBC’s effectiveness was good because of the fact that Team USA didn’t even reach the semifinal round, the rest of the world saw that baseball is a global game. There really is no comparison between the effectiveness of the WBC and FIFA’s growth of soccer. Soccer has been successfully globalized for a long time and baseball is still far from that.

2.      The countries that are developed baseball nations could help market the sport to other countries that need further development. Some pros of implementing international play would be more infusion of international talent into the MLB, and of course more money. More revenue would come from the new fans. There would be more opportunities for coaching and youth playing. The main con would probably be tension between rival nations.

3.      Based upon other sports’ efforts at globalization, to help baseball grow in the global marketplace, I would suggest start at the youth level. Have stars from their own countries promote and teach the game.

Globalizing Sport: Assessing the World Baseball Classic

I like baseball, but I don’t really follow it that much. This article by Alan Klein was very interesting to me, because I didn’t know very much about the World Baseball Classic (WBC). It is pretty arrogant how Major League Baseball (MLB) can call it the “World Series” when it only involves North America. When the World Baseball Classic started in 2006, it was an opportunity to observe how baseball has globalized to other countries. It was interesting to learn how the other countries had reacted toward the MLB’s structuring of the tournament. I can understand why the Japanese and the South Koreans felt angry, because they assumed that the event would be planned by all of the represented nations. Like everyone else, I would have assumed that since MLB came up with the event, the American team, with their All-Star roster, would win the tournament. I was surprised to find out that the American team lost not once, but twice, to Canada and Mexico. Neither Canada nor Mexico won the tournament. Shockingly, it was Japan ousting Cuba for the Championship. I think the outcome of this tournament was a success. Klein (2008) says the other nations in the tournament “showed Americans that the game was not only played abroad, but also produced foreign players whose consummate skills recalled how baseball used to be played in the USA before commercialized era of bloated egos and contracts” (p.161). I agree with the article in that Major League Baseball is far from being as popular as football (soccer) and basketball. As Klein (2008) says “MLB needs to foster the creation of top-flight leagues and franchises in areas of the world that have been thus far ignored” (p.166).

Introduction

Hi, my name is Kyle Leedy. This is the first blog I have ever made and the first blog post I have ever done. I am from Toledo, Ohio and I am a senior in Sport Management at BGSU. I went to Start High School and was on the wrestling team all four years. I was involved in many different sports when I was younger such as soccer and cross country, but decided to just focus on wrestling in high school. I have never participated internationally, but I have participated in national events such as the Junior Olympics. Even though I don’t wrestle anymore, I would still say that wrestling is my favorite sport. Besides wrestling, I like to watch and participate in many other sports such as basketball, football and soccer.

This blog is for my Sport Management 3950/Sport and Globalization class. I hope to be able to comprehend more about what it means to live sport in a world that is increasingly globalizing. I want to learn about all of the positive benefits and negative effects of the globalization of sport. I want to learn how sport is practiced and understood in different global cultures. I want to learn about the beginning of sport’s globalization and what the future of globalization holds for sport.

If I could attend one global sporting event it would probably be the Olympics or the World Cup. Those are the main global sporting events that I follow. I would choose an event like that because so many people all over the world are watching all at the same time. To be at such an event would be amazing, with so many excited spectators and fans gathered together. As for what global sport icon I would want to see, I would say Usain Bolt. He is one of the most recognized athletes in the world and he is just superior at what he does. I would also like to see MMA fighter/UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva fight. I like to watch UFC because it is similar to wrestling, and Anderson Silva is definitely one of the best.